


The future has Fangs

by TheNervousMedic



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon), steven universe future - Fandom
Genre: Colleseum AU, I'll add tags as I think of em, It follows canon closely but not entirely, Post SUF, The diamonds mistakes are coming back to cause problems, This AU is still in the works
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:48:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23618527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNervousMedic/pseuds/TheNervousMedic
Summary: With Steven trying to start his new life away from home, more and more familiar situations arise.The diamond authority have broken many things in the past... but is it really Steven's job to fix them?
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	1. You missed a spot

It's quiet. Too, perfectly, quiet. There is not a bird in sight nor a single pitter of rain on the windowsill. The night is clear and crisp, sky sporting speckled stars like jewels, and the moon shone brightly.

Connie awakens with a flinch as bright pink light assaults her sleepy eyes. Lion, barging into her room via warping. Dropping his heavy head onto her lap as she sits up.

"Again?" Connie asks, exasperated on noticing the time. "Lion it's not even 3am, I have to study tomorrow." She sighs, roaming a hand over his silken fur. "You can't keep waking me like this or I'll be sending you home to sleep with Greg." 

He mowls softly, licking at her open palm with hardly any effort, forcing a creeping smile onto her face despite her eyes rolling. "Alright, fine, come on." 

A 'poff poff' of her hand hitting the airy duvet spurs him up and onto the bed. The mattress sounding its strain with a heavy groan. His padded paws kneading eagerly at the foot of her sleeping space before settling down with a wide but silent yawn…

The morning comes swiftly. Lion's heavy body scrambling down off of Connie's bed would have been enough to wake her, but to top it off he kept pacing the room and pawing at her covers. This had been going on for a little under a week now and the break in schedule was really getting to her system. She almost fell asleep during dinner yesterday. It was a disaster.

He glowered and grumbled while she got changed, clearly riled up about something and scratching impatiently at the clean carpet. 

"Hold on, let me grab my bag. Steven won't start without us, Lion, you know that." Her soothing did little to quell his enthusiasm, however, tail flicking back and forth until she was finally ready to leave. They were so behind schedule...

Warp-riding with Lion was always exhilarating, regardless of how many times she had done it before. It could be nauseating to some people, but luckily Connie was one of those special few. Not many humans could tolerate gem nonsense like she could- even Greg suffered from time to time and he had been exposed to it much longer than she had.

On straightening her bag strap and climbing up, the loud space-bending roar wobbled a few innocent stuffed animals sitting on her nightstand. In a matter of moments the whole room had dissolved from view, her hands gripping the thick fur of Lion's mane. A brief, indescribable second of weightlessness… and then the heavy 'THUD' of their landing. Gravity was suddenly back, almost twice as heavy as before, as his paws thundered across dirt ground. Slowing to a trot, walk, an eventual halt.

As she reached down to pat his shoulder, the realisation that they weren't outside of Steven's current bed and breakfast set in. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she sat upright and twisted to look in all directions. It was densely packed forest on all sides. "Um. Lion?" Connie's tone held a bit of bewilderment but no accusatory notes. "Where are we?"

Lion rarely warped to the wrong place… and even more scarcely did it without having a reason. Her hands retreated to the strap of the large bag that weighed heavily on her shoulder. She slid off of the big pink cat's back to stand on her own and look around.

Lion breathed in short, rapid, breaths. Searching for something in the frosty morning air. The taste of damp foliage and a slight breeze lingered in the woods. Ears picking as they filtered out the white noise of the rustling leaves and Connie's boots grinding up the grit beneath them.

She opens her mouth, ready to ask Lion if they could leave, but was cut short as his loud bellowing howl interrupted her train of thought. Lion repeatedly called out, pausing to listen for something after each one, before marching onward. Connie hadn't heard any replies to Lion's shouting, but clearly he did, trotting through the undergrowth with heavy steps.

Thinking quickly, Connie rummaged through her bag to find her phone. She Jogged to keep up with Lion as the cellular device latched onto a signal. Thank goodness Peridot had made adjustments, or she might have been out of luck.

Several texts pinged onto the screen, one after another, clearly having been delayed from delivery by her phone being off in her bag all morning.

_[Good morning!]_

_[Food is going to get cold, haha.]_

_[Connie?]_

_[Connie is everything ok?]_

It's Steven. Of course it was. She was late, and not responding, who knows how worried he might be by now. Stumbling awkwardly over a fern, she taps at the on-screen keyboard.

**[Steven! Lion warped me into the middle of nowhere, I'm so sorry we're late.]**

_[You're worried about being late in the middle of nowhere?]_

_[Instead of worrying about being lost?]_

**[It’s just a bad warp, I think.]**

_[Where are you, can you describe it?]_

**[Forest. Lots of trees, lots of bushes.] [hold on.]**

_[???]_

**[Hey, a landmark! There's a big rock here, really tall, with smooth straight sides. Looks like a broken obelisk. There's a few deep scratches in the corner.]**

_[Wait, that's not far from here]-_

Connie's gaze snaps up from her phone to the pillar as an overwhelming sense of danger grabs at her shoulders much too late. Something large barrels into her side, knocking her to the ground. The phone clatters off of pebbled dirt. 

Sucking air through her teeth at the grazed skin along her palms, she scrambles to flip onto her back and face the threat head on.

Something tall and wide looms over her with a heavy growl. The sound was grating, like stone being dragged across a marble floor, every hair on the back of her neck standing on end. Its head eclipses the radiating daylight, fur glowing gold from behind. A stretched shadow blotted out the warm rays of sun. It raised a heavyset paw, ready to bring it down atop Connie's chest. But at the last possible moment she snaps back to attention, rolling out of the way as it slams into the ground with enough force to shake the earth.

A roar interrupts the scuffle, Lion springing out of a wall of foliage to tackle Connie's assailant while she gets back on her feet. There's a violent blur of fur and claws before the both of them roll in locked combat through the densely packed ferns and out of sight. Her heart thunders, adrenaline finally reaching into her bones to provide a sudden buzz of energy, the scrapes and scratches along her knees and arms deadened and numb.

She can still hear Lion and the giant creature crashing through the trees. Her mouth runs dry as she scrambles to pick up her shattered phone and desperately try to turn it on. To no avail. The screen, voided beneath a webbed shattering of glass, was far beyond use. 

The forest hisses with the beasts' battle as Connie drags her foot across the forest floor, gouging a deep arrow into the pebbly soil in the direction of the uproar; sprinting off through the undergrowth soon after. The fresh air of the low hanging trees would have been nice if it wasn't clouded by an ever so subtle metallic stain in her bruised nose. Ears trained in on the yowls and growls of Lion’s struggles against the creature whose rampant swipes had left large, splintered trenches in a path of heavily leaning trees…

The hurried crunching of Steven's flip flops almost drowned out his huffing and puffing as he sprinted through the trees, an arm raised up in front of him to keep swatting branches and nosey brambles out of his way. 

Connie had stopped responding to his texts, something that normally he would chalk up to her being busy… But the past few nights he had been haunted by unearthly howls and distant thunder. The stone column Connie described set off a varied array of red flags. It was nearby, not visible from his bed and breakfast window, but close enough that the grinding crunches of breaking stone had been keeping him awake all night.

An eerie silence closed in around him as finally the treeline gave way to a small opening where the midday sunlight came beaming down bright and fierce. The towering shadow of the stone pillar, exactly as he had imagined it. Stretched up to the canopy above with just a slight lean to one side. A lower corner, around at his head height, had large chips missing. Carved out with reckless dismissal. This must be where Connie was before she stopped texting back…

His heart hammered, imagining the worst. But, after taking a second to catch his breath, he knew she would be alright. She was strong, smart, brave… and something aching at the centre of his chest understood she would be ok.

The spinning thoughts took an abrupt back seat as something on the floor caught his eye - Little flecks of glass, but more importantly, a neatly scrawled mark in the dirt. Big and easily visible in the darker soil under the deadened leaves, a clear arrow pointing out toward the opposing treeline. “Of course! Arrows, Connie, you're a genius!” 

One led to another, and another, each getting smaller and more hastily scribbled. Though he focused on trailing the breadcrumb line a few sights and sounds didn't go unnoticed. It felt as though the woods themselves were trying to smother him, keep him from moving forward. But his desire to confirm Connie's safety was keeping it at bay.

A piercing roar undermined his growing unease, replacing it with dense, unbridled determination as he closed the remaining gap at full throttle. He practically explodes from the tree line and out into an open clearing, not putting time nor thought into what he was doing.

Connie stood battered and bruised on one side of the clearing, firmly holding Rose's greatsword out in front of herself in a threatening manner. Her hair had been ruffled up at the sides, adding more volume at the cost of looking a mess.

"Steven, look out!"

_**WHAM** _

His shield clanged as something hard and blunt rammed into it. Sandals skidded and dug into the loose dirt as, finally, he put a face to the threat he'd been waiting to see.

A beast, its form wild and unruly, stood snarling and poised ready for another hit. The burnt orange fur covering its body donned a thick mane of dark browns like a ragged cape draped over its face, shoulders, and back. The front pair of legs held large muscular paws while the back held less impressive but still dangerous two-toed hooks.

In its mouth was the real prize. Hanging down beside its chin on either side sat two long, curved fangs, glittering and gleaming under the blinding sunlight. A gemstone. Striped like the rest of its body but richer in colour.

Steven heaved the creature off of him, struggling from the weight for only a few seconds before it retreated. It gives Connie just enough time to start running over.

Her movement clearly caught the beast’s unseen eyes as it reacted with a volatile pounce. Only to yelp when another of Steven's constructs, a hexagonal patterned wall, crashed into its side - throwing it off course to tumble into the dirt. 

"A corrupted gem?! I thought you'd dealt with all of these!" Connie gasped, finally getting to Steven's flank to brandish her weapon once more in the gem’s direction.

"I guess there's still some we haven't found yet…" He panted, an air of uncertainty to the reply. Had they really missed one? Were there more? If it's this aggressive, why hadn't they heard of it before now?

His theorizing was cut short when the gem, finally back on its feet, began to pace menacingly ahead of them. Steven's hands, usually steady, began to tremble. Every muscle in his chest seizes up on spotting the large, limp shape the gemstone beast was guarding.

Lion. Tired and ragged with visible scratches along his short velvety fur, one of the most prominent of which had been partially hidden by his thick, petal pink mane. He shifted occasionally, dragging his chin along the floor to try and see Steven, one eye squeezed shut to avoid a headache.

The sight had distracted Steven, flung his mind out of the present and into a stagnant void. Enough so that as the beastly gemstone approached Connie was the first to make a move in retaliation.

A wide sweeping arc from Rose's sword clashed with the gem' s muzzle in a harsh slash, forcing it up onto its hind legs. A startling screech, close to painful, jogged Steven from his stupor in time to see the creatures razor claws headed for Connie's face.

**"STOP!"**

The floor cracked under the force of his yell. Shattering stones and sending spiralling cracks racing through the clearing. A flurry of birds erupting from the canopy to flee the sudden blast. Connie flinches, covering her ears, the absence of ambience afterwards was almost nauseating. Her shoulders had tensed, head turned away and ready to bear a cut...

But… she wasn't hit. 

No. Instead the gemstone simply stands. It glares down at her with it's outstretched paw still raised for a moment until finally lowering. The beast staggers a weighty step backwards before thumping back onto all fours with no signs of hostility. It was… whining. Soft and quiet, almost unbearable in the deafening silence.

Steven shuddered from head to toe, staring wide-eyed at the space between Connie and the monster as if seeing something else in their place. His skin, radiating a vibrant pink, shuddered. Eyes clouded with a build up of tears that threatened to fall.

"Steven?"

Connie's soft, concerned, voice brought his shattered shaking breaths back from the brink of choking. As if realising he'd begun to glow he closed his hanging mouth and swallowed hard. Clearing the sweat from his palms by repeatedly gripping and letting go of his jacket.

His arms tore themselves from their rigid positions, a hand coming up to ruffle at his curly hair to ease some tension. "Are… Are you-" 

"Yes. I'm okay Steven, it…. listened to you?" Connie interrupted, both trying to stay defensive to the skulking gem and sound supportive toward Steven. It’s not an easy act to juggle as she skirts towards him with an outstretched hand. She waits patiently as he hesitantly took it and squeezed softly, as if checking it was really there. "We need to get to Lion..."

"Lion,” he parroted back at her. A heavy weight had settled on his shoulders, staring at the now-pacing gem whose whines had become loud enough to consistently hear. Lion had managed to drag himself from the floor and prop himself up behind the pacing beast, still looking a little worse for wear.

"Hey! Back away. Go on, get away from him!" The authoritative drive to his tone caught Connie a little off guard after what had seemingly been a lot of worry a moment ago. But, looking as though it understood the orders, the gem began to move aside. Staying as far away from them as possible, muzzle trained on Steven as if transfixed… or terrified.

The interlocked pair make a beeline for their pink friend, Connie not once taking her eyes off of the gem as Steven lets go of her hand and throws himself at Lion's mane. He hugs him thoroughly before trying to heal some of his more serious scratches first.

Most of them close just fine, and only a fraction of those had been bleeding at all. Lions after all do have very thick and loose skin for this exact reason. But the deeper, slightly staining, mark tracing down his jawline and into his neck ruff quickly became harder to care for when Lion suddenly jerks away from Steven's hands. He stands up fully and shakes all of his messy, misplaced fur. 

"Lion, wait, I've still got to do this one-" Steven huffed, again licking his hand and reaching for Lion's chin only to have him growl and pull back a second time.

Immediately after the deep rumble escapes his throat, the big cat winces horribly. He brings his head down into his own mane in an obvious show of pain and chuffs out quiet murmurs of affection into Steven's chest as he presses his nose up against the boy's shirt. He exhales loudly with a pitiful look. 

"Connie, I don't know if Lion can take you home. He won't let me heal his neck and I think making loud noises is hurting him."

Her brows shot up in surprise. She breaks off her staring competition with the restless beast to run a hand over Lion's soft, cushioned muzzle. "Oh, Lion. You did your best, I'm sorry I couldn't join the fight sooner, you were just trying to help." She muses regretfully, scratching behind his ear as he purred a wheezy off-tune purr.

The tender moment was ruined shortly thereafter as rustling in the trees caused every hair along the saber-like gem's spine to prickle. For the first time since Steven had spoken to, it its hidden gaze snapped away from him and towards the leaves. Scanning over the tree line behind them in rushed glances before turning tail to flee and thunders off into the woodland.

Steven tenses, ready to give chase, but Connie's scraped up hand lightly rested down on his shoulder. Against all better judgement, perhaps they should let it go for now...

They'll meet again. He was sure of it.


	2. A tiger in the woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven and Connie go back to find their corrupted fighter... only to discover not everything is as it seems.

The dining room was surprisingly quite empty as Steven and Connie began their breakfast. The manager, a nice lady with short hair, had chalked it up to Beach City incidents driving people away lately. He likely would have found that funny if it weren't for… well. You know.

"So, let's start again-" Connie chirped from behind a mouthful of buttered toast. Her back a little stiff after sleeping on the brick-like mattresses of the B&B. "You'd heard weird noises all night but didn't go check it out?"

"It's been keeping me awake, yeah. I thought maybe it was just a wild animal but…" He trailed off, picking with little appetite at the chunky breakfast sausage sitting on his plate, eventually giving up and tossing it to lion with a sigh. "I guess I thought once I left Beach city all the gem stuff would start going away."

A soft ache at Connie's chest forced her mouth to twist into a sad smile. Of course Steven wanted to get away from it all. It was just an awfully timed coincidence that a corrupted gem of all things would appear now. "Well, since we're only a day or so away, we could poof it and I can deliver it to the gems to cleanse the corruption. You don't have to come back if you don't want to." 

The awkward expression he gave her quickly shut that idea down, remembering that Steven would need to be present to actually fix the gem. As much as taking a bottle of his spit back would work, in theory, it wasn't a particularly pleasant plan.

"No." He resigned, pushing the mostly empty plate away in defeat. "It's no big deal, just one more gem, right?" The concern in Connie's eyes was almost convincing, but he soon stood up and nodded firmly to confirm his thoughts. "Don't worry, Connie. If I wanted to say no I'd say no. Or I'd make some kind of joke about it..."

Her little chortling sounded like music to his ears. So goofy and sweet. The good kind of pink flush rushed to his rounded cheeks as she rose from her seat and shook her head. "I couldn't convince you not to if I tried, Steven Universe, but it was worth a shot." Her eyes sparkle with an idea, Lion nosing his head onto her plate to grab at the leftovers. "You know, there _is_ one thing you could do to make this better for the both of us."

"And-" Steven is caught during the reply as Connie hopped forward to plant a peck on his cheek. "-uh, wuh, what would that be?" He stammered, blinking away the kiss with a giddy smile.

"I want you to sit this one out." It was clear and concise. Confidently worded as she let her hand linger on his shoulder, watching for the predictable _'wait what?'_ expression before continuing. "I can handle this, Steven." Her smile lowered, eyes drifting to lion who had finished clearing their plates and was grooming one of the many spots of missing fur from yesterday. "I really don't think-"

"Thank you." 

That one little phrase stopped Connie in her tracks, eyes flicking back to him in surprise. "I… guess it was obvious I really don't want to fight, huh." He chuckled running a hand up the back of his neck. "I get it, too, that I'm not really ok to be… I don't feel comfortable after…" Oh Steven. She understood perfectly well, that's why she even brought it up. But to accept that, and understand, was already such a big leap. She didn't know whether to feel proud or pity him.

She pulled him into a soft, warm, one armed hug. Patting his back a few times before they both cleaned up their table and bid farewell to the cheerful manager. Connie pullined the heavy Pink sword from Lion's mane as they approached the main road, hoisting it up onto her shoulder with one arm while her free hand lay interlocked with Stevens.

The distant rolling thunder of cars surfing over the well kept roads almost gave the outdoors some form of white noise. The brushing of leaves and twittering of small sparrows overtaking the city symphony as they hurried across the asphalt and into the treeline. Her knees and hands, all the way up to the wrist, had been wrapped in clean, sturdy, bandages. The many little scrapes from yesterday were a learning experience, already healed with Steven's help.

The woodlands were just as they had been yesterday. Yet the sky was much different. Swirling wisps of cloud danced around like silk, taken easily in the cool breeze. The sun, not yet having risen enough to beam brightly, cast the horizon in deep golds and oranges. It reminded Steven of his early mornings back home. Rushing to the big doughnut to meet Sadie and Lars. Getting early access to last night's fry-bits from Peedee. It was a warm, Cozy feeling to be thinking of those kinds of mornings.

The minutes flew by, as did yesterday's landmarks. Passing the monolith, then the arrow-trail, and finally coming to the clearing from before. Steven took a long sigh-like breath as he finally let go of Connie and the both of them warily explored the battlezone.

He remembered the direction the gem had taken off in, but felt at a loss when he tried to imagine how far it may have gone by now. After all, gems don't need sleep like they did. And for all he knows it could have been running since their encounter. Broken twigs, a vaguely large break in the opposing bushes...

"Steven, come look at this." Connie squatted into a spry crouch, interested in the dirt, which as he got closer revealed a little glimmer of a clue. "Pawprints." She mumbled. A hand wandering idly down to touch the deep indentation in the dust. It was wide, and only had three toes, making a perfect match got the gem they had seen before. A little further forward was another, and around the same area slightly less defined triangular prints also started to show. Marks of the two-toed back feet by the looks of it.

"They look like the right size. What do you think, lion?” He asked cheerily, ruffling Lion's airy mane as the big cat stooped down to sniff at the trail. Dust and specks of grit flew away from his muzzle on every loud exhale. Taking slow meandering steps over the indentations, his ears pricking up every so often like two twitchy antennae. Finally satisfied, he turned around to look eagerly back at Steven and Connie. 

Hesitation was gripping tediously at Steven's bones as he watched Connie stand up and dust off her knees, wanting to reach out and call the whole thing off so what happened yesterday wouldn't repeat itself. But he knew that wasn't an option anymore. He had faith in her but that faith alone couldn't fight away the gnawing unease of the task ahead.

Lion stayed just a pace behind the troublesome duo, eyes wandering idly of their own accord. The bushes they passed had lingering traces of the beast and with every step closer his tail twitched just a little harder. 

It had hurt him, but not out of anger or savagery. No. It was scared. Lost. Abandoned? His first instinct might have been to observe it with curiosity had it not so suddenly attacked Connie. After all, that's exactly what he'd been doing for a week now. Watching it. Following it. The ambush was unexpected. If he'd known it would have behaved so destructively toward his little human companion he never would have brought her.

The slow crawl of changing scenery eventually escaped the dense trees, out into open air. Large walls of stone jutted out of the ground like steep pedestals hosting unknown treasures on top. The tracks they had been following vanished as dirt gave way to gravel and Lion suddenly halted. The scent trail gems left behind would generally grow stronger the closer they got, and right now it was pretty strong.

"Do you think it's here?" Connie whispered gingerly while letting her blade droop in her grasp.

Steven's stomach was in knots. It twisted and wrenched around itself and yet he managed to keep the feeling subdued by watching Connie's face. Her eyes were narrowed and intense. He didn't need to ask to know what was going on in that head of hers. Such blazing determination; it was infectious. "Yeah. It's got to be here." He took a breath, reaching into Lion's mane with an awkward rummage before pulling something small out. "Stand still."

"What?" She made no moves, expecting danger, but instead was greeted by his hands moving softly through her hair. "-Oh." Trying not to catch any stray tangles as he guided it all into a messy ponytail and twisted on a hairband. Earning a sweet smile as a result. "Thank you, Steven!"

The mushy moment didn't last long as without delay Connie took lead of the walk forward. Everyone's eyes scanned the available horizon until not even a minute into the search they found their prize. Snuffling over the cold stone floor, its muzzle pressing to the dust, with its tail dragging along behind it. 

The gem’s ragged pelt rippled golden under the tinted dawn light. Heavy shadows from surrounding pillars casting darkness over large strips of the open area. It didn't seem to notice the approaching trio until Connie slid down a noisy bank of loose pebbles and tumbling rocks. Despite not being able to see any eyes beyond the mounds of fur, she could feel its pinpoint glare lock onto her the moment it looked her way. It’s fur prickled uncomfortably before laying flat again on noticing Lion and Steven still stashed away at the top of the sheer slide.

An eerie silence alerted Connie to the slow drumming of her pulse in her ears. Guarded and tense as her eyes bore into the creatures bottomless hair. She could feel her palms clam up with sweat underneath the bandage straps, frowning as it stayed statuesque in a frozen crouch. 

Yesterday's fight had by no means been one sided. Even after Lion received one too many injuries Connie had held her ground with impressive technique. The creature fought with an air of predictability. A savage instinct that worked to make it stronger yet easier to anticipate. Many of its moves had been so heavily telegraphed she began to wonder if it was being intentionally slow.

The creature took cautious lumbering steps forward, smooth muzzle creasing, low grinding snarls serving as a warning to the determined human still menacingly standing there. The pink blade reflected soft sparkles of light across the floor with a rosy tint. Time fell to a sluggish crawl, neither making a move without the other instigating it. Connie’s patience was stretched further and further, like a boiling tea kettle. Her sweaty palms readjusted on the sword’s thorn-patterned hilt. Teeth began to grind. “Come on….” She hissed under a delayed breath, shuddering at the feeling of their onlooker’s eyes on the back of her neck. “Stop waiting, come at me!”

A thunderous screech echoed off of the surrounding stones. The gem, finally giving way to the human’s harsh demands, charged forward. It was only a few leaps until the colossal figure collided with Connie’s sword. A clash of razor claws on pearly metal threw sparks as its onslaught of blows bounced harmlessly, but not effortlessly, away from the blade. Connie’s feet danced across the dirt in quick, calm, movements. She was ready for a fight today. 

The gem’s Sharp fangs glimmered, reflecting Connie’s face in their smooth polished edges, almost glowing the further into the fight they went. It was hard not to imagine them closing around her arms and shattering the bones inside. A gritty taste invaded Connie’s mouth as their brawl began to throw up clouds of dust.

The beast lowered, a sign Connie recognised immediately from yesterday. A pounce was coming. If it landed on her the amount of force would knock her over. Thinking quickly, she rolled to the left, making sure to stay away from the direction of the glaring sun so it couldn’t get in her eyes. As predicted the gem lunged forward at the moment she dodged, heavy legs swatting onto the sooty stone. Her sword sailed in a wide arc, whistling as she aimed for the Beast’s head…

The sudden drop in momentum was jarring. A reverberating rattle of metal on hard light. The gem’s mouth had caught the blade mid-swing. Connie’s wide eyes tried to process the sight as it too stood silent for a moment before it tugged at the sword, almost pulling it from her grip. Connie, wincing, shoulder still ringing from the sudden impact, dug her shoes into the pebble-ridden ground. She attempted to keep hold of the weapon while dark rumbles roll out of the creature’s mouth.

Finally it let go, though she wasn’t ready for it, and a hard pull sent her stumbling backwards onto the floor. Steven, who had been keeping a hand in Lion's mane for security, stiffened at the sight. The Gem leaned over her, a paw on either side of her legs, while she stared up at it, frozen. 

_“...Grrfff.”_ It huffed, almost disappointed. The beast blew hot air across Connie’s face before it turned around and walked away, leaving her lying propped up on padded elbows with a confused look cemented onto her face. She stared up at where its muzzle had just been before blinking repeatedly and groaning, hauling herself back onto her feet.

Steven’s head felt like it was going to implode, finally breathing out a long weighty breath he didn’t realise was being held. That was lucky. Hold on. No it wasn’t. That was _intentional._ His brow creased as he walked to the steep gravelly drop, watching the Gem circle away from Connie and then back again. Re-aligning itself in front of her and shaking off the dust that had settled in its mane. “It’s fighting because she asked it to.” The realisation hit like a puzzle piece being put in place. Sucking in air with surprise, he cupped both hands up in front of his mouth. “Connie, it’s sparring with you!”

Connie’s sword hand wobbled uncomfortably as she aimed the blade back at the monster. Conflicted feelings clouded her senses as it once again lurched forward into an attack. Early training days with Pearl echoed in her head. The choreographed movements, the less frantic fighting, stopping on someone’s defeat instead of following through… and then the corrupted gems she had faced before with Steven. Savage and desperate. Life threatening and high-stakes with no hesitation on either side of the field to finish the fight. 

A surge of adrenaline brought a thunderous cry of effort out of her throat, slamming the flat side of the sword across the beast’s face instead of rolling away. The charge redirected as it stumbled over its own feet from the impact and crumpled to the ground, enough momentum in its run to have it roll aimlessly across the stone for a moment. It lay dizzy and dazed from the unexpected strike.

This time the creature was the one on the ground and it was Connie’s turn to blot out the sun. Planting a foot on its large forearm, she lifted the blade to its head, looking down at the creature with an impossible to read expression. In the background, Lion and Steven slid over the steep ledge and made their way to the pair. Connie sighed, lowering the sword again, and took a step away. She couldn’t poof it. It wasn’t like fighting any other corrupted gem they’d encountered before. It wasn’t just some mindless force of destruction. And neither was she.

“Connie, that was amazing!” Steven’s cheers brought her thoughts crashing back to the present as he grabbed her in a big, tight hug. “Not really what we came here to do but… I mean, I think you won, right?” He chuckled, looking from her embarrassed face to the gem beast still lying comfortably on the floor with what almost looked like a smile.

She patted the back of his jacket, looking uneasily from him to Lion and finally the creature. “I guess?” The patient looking expression on its face made her brows raise in curiosity, confirming a few lingering thoughts as the beast dipped its head in a single nod as a response. “But what about yesterday? Why would it be so aggressive then but not now? I don’t know, Steven, this one is… strange.”

“Huh, you’re right.” He mused, pulling a hand up to his mouth in thought, side-eyeing their potentially dangerous ‘acquaintance’ with a squint. “I can’t say about when you first ran into it, but when I got there it seemed pretty afraid, right? Maybe something else has been fighting it?”

Connie sighed heavily, a smile creeping back onto her face as she watched Lion approach the creature with caution. They stretched out to sniff at each others’ muzzles, despite the beast having no visible nose, and then Lion inevitably recoiled with a passive aggressive growl. They were very clearly not fond of each other, but neither made any attempt to bother the other outside of a few wayward chuffs and grumbles. 

“So… what do we do? If we can’t poof it-”

“We should give it a name.” He cut her off, carrying on as Connie stared at him as if his hair had just turned into feathers. “We can’t just call them ‘it’ all the time, right? You fought it, so why don’t you name it?”

She blinked, taking a second to process the request before shaking her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Okay. Alright.” She brushed his goofy smile away with feigned irritability, trying to keep a straight face and only failing on turning back to the two large balls of fur. Lion seemed to be batting curiously at the creature’s large tail. Which it was obviously trying to ignore, flicking the tail’s clubbed end back and forth in an effort to keep it out of his puffy pink paws.

“How about…” Connie’s eyes wandered over the beast's body, settling time and time again on the large burnt orange stripes lining their arms and legs. “Weeee have Lion… so why not Tiger?”

At once the creature’s uninterested posture stiffened and it stood up. Eyeing Connie with an intensity that made her feel like a target. But, by the looks of it, Steven didn’t seem to be affected as much as she was, clapping his hands together as he beamed. “Tiger! What do you think, do you like that name?” he chirped, grabbing the gem’s attention with the word.

Connie pouted for a moment and placed both hands firmly at her hips. “If all gems are named after _real_ gemstones… amethyst, garnet, pearl. Do you think it’s possible this is a tiger’s eye?”

“Maybe. I can’t remember meeting a tiger’s eye before. Do you think they all look like this?” 

“I don’t think we’ve seen any gem that chooses to look like it's corrupted. We really need to ask the Gems about this. They’ll know.”


	3. Back to the bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ever tried pushing a Tiger up a flight of stairs?

So many new questions, but where to start? The gem, Tiger, lay peacefully before Steven and Connie. It's head firmly fixed on observing as Lion rolled his belly up to the bright sky. A warmth had settled overhead as midday marched comfortably onward, a softly blowing breeze filtering through the two large beasts’ manes.

The grass swayed in an inconsistent rhythm. Overhanging branches and rustling leaves greedily catching the sunlight above the resting trio, Shielding Connie’s eyes as she raised her hand up. Then lowered it back down. Over and over, watching Tiger's attention snap from lion to herself. Its tracking was impeccable. Even when she sharply changed the direction of her wandering wrist the gem not once was caught lingering in the wrong place.

Stevens' mouth creased into a thoughtful pout, holding out his hands at arms length before clapping daintily. The same way he remembers the homeworld gems ordering around their pearls. 

"Up!" he barked, jokingly, laughing as Connie all but facepalms at the silly notion. His mocking air of superiority breaking into a shocked stare as his command is actually obeyed, Tiger sitting up with some effort. 

"I didn't actually expect that to work." He admitted, sheepishly, suddenly feeling awkward as Tiger waited on the next order. 

He clapped again, "down?" And sure enough, it lied back down, nestled into the grass with a hearty sigh. 

Connie, whose knees were starting to leave imprints in the dirt, clapped twice with firm hands. "Up." But Tiger only watched, the corners of its mouth turned up in the same patient smile as before. Her cheeks burned, not having enough time to feel caught out as Steven almost doubled over from trying to hold in his giggles.

Just behind Connie's back stood Lion, staring at her like an obedient puppy. His eyes lit up excitedly as she turned to see what Steven was wheezing about, laughing and pushing his nose out of her face playfully. 

"Not you!"

The cool breeze carried a clean, slightly grassy scent under the bustling trees, ruffling idly at everyone's hair while Lion returned to his pleasant sprawl under the sun. Steven unintentionally mimicked his companion by flopping onto the grass in a starfish pose. A groan breaking the very brief pause as he buried his face in his palms. 

"What are we going to do with you, Tiger? Do we leave you here? Do we try to take you home? I wish we could just ask the gems from here.”   
  
“Steven… Don’t you have your phone?”   
  
_ Oh my stars. _

His eyes jumped back open beneath his hands, looking up through the gaps at Connie who was leaning over him with an indiscreet look of amusement. 

“Connie. I have a phone!” He blurted out, sitting upright so fast he almost headbutted his poor girlfriend in the nose. 

"I can’t believe I missed that, it’s so obvious, I'll just call Amethyst! She's the most likely to pick up-"

  
  


_ My my.  _ The little man really does talk, doesn’t he, so expressive too. And his friend… what a personality. Very feisty, there’s a fire in there Tiger could appreciate. Though she had zoned out of their little squabble a while ago, too preoccupied with watching their movements to pay attention to their words. That gem in the boy’s stomach. It felt familiar, to an uncomfortable degree, yet she remembered nothing of the chunky lad it was embedded in.

As Steven stands, the cellular device ringing obnoxiously, Connie again began to glare in Tiger's direction. The beast smiled, already sensing the tension in the human's shoulders under the heavy jacket she wore. She huffed a polite chuff of air through Connie's bangs before stiffly getting up and stretching out each limb in turn, watching closely as the human followed suit, curious as to what the strange little people had planned.

Steven's bright smile and waving arms dragged her gaze back to him, cupping the air in front of him while slowly walking backwards.

"Come on, this way, follow us." Follow him. Or them, rather. Hmm. It was technically an order, one she was very tempted to obey, but worry had clouded her judgement. She didn't move at first, glancing from Steven to Connie and finally the opposing treeline as Lion padded over from his resting spot. 

Would it be worth it? Putting them in danger to obey a simple command? The thought swam in her head, behind thick locks of fur, until it felt hazy and distorted. She felt the compulsion to move in her gem but her body wanted to flee instead. Such conflicting signals came out as high pitched, drawn out whines as she continued to stare at the forest and lightly shiver. 

Connie spoke but the words were mostly lost to her foggy mind. Only zoning back in on the here and now as one of her hands came up to Tigers muzzle and gently waved in front of it. Such a simple gesture was so grounding. Like having a small rope lasso her consciousness back to the present while in reality all she had done was wiggle her wrist at the creature's face. Her whimpering died down to soft occasional grumbles. She sighed deeply and eventually took a few steps forward and the group disappeared into the bushes.

The tree they had been sitting under shuddered violently moments after they leave. Leaves drifted silently back and fourth all the way to the ground, settling at the patches of swaying grass that had been squashed flat. It continued to groan and creak under pressure until finally the weight lifts away, leaving behind deep scratches in the twisted bark.

Lion took the lead, pushing bushes and branches alike aside while Steven followed close behind, Connie and Tiger taking up the back of the little train. Their shoes and paws, leaving a long winding track in the dirt. Overlapping one another like layers of paint on a canvas. The muddled talk over the phone is hushed behind Tiger’s thoughts still buzzing and churning around in her head. Every few minutes turning to look at where they had just come from, and every time feeling a sense of relief as the trees stood silent and undisturbed.

  
  


The woods soon passed. From today’s rocky expanse, to yesterday’s battleground, and finally the monolith. Still exactly as they had left it, reaching tall towards the summer sky.

Steven sighed as he hung up the phone and stuffed it back into his bright pink jacket. 

“Amethyst is busy, but Garnet said to wait at the bed and breakfast, she’s going to get Pearl and they’ll be bringing Dad’s van once Bis is finished fixing it. So like tomorrow? Until then I guess we should… Bring them to the B and B?” He gestured vaguely at Tiger as she approached the monolith and sat at its base, staring up at the top in silence. He casually approached the monstrous gem with his hands stuffed firmly into his pockets.

The beast droned quietly and gently placed one of its massive paws onto the stone, dragging it softly downwards, passing over the deep grooves in the pillar with a remorseful air. They angled their claws to line up with the scratches… they scrape, scrape, scraped away. Like a nervous itch, dragging tiny grainy pebbles out of the pillar, repeating the action while Connie stored her sword away in Lion's mane.

It felt like watching someone nervously tap their fingers on a desk. Or scribble nonsense into the borders of a scrapbook. The mindless nature of it reminding him of yesterday. Pacing back and forth, whining, being quick to flee. Thoughts of his own frustrations fluttering to mind. Uninvited and bitter. Pacing around his room, obsessively watering his plants, ignoring the building signs of stress. This monolith hadn't been struck by a vicious blow but by hours of slow scratching. Thoughtless action to vent out unwanted feelings.

His heart ached.  He found something so wordlessly expressive almost hard to watch , having to redirect his eyes up to Tiger's creased muzzle where its smile had one been. Without thinking his hand drifted up from its safe snuggly spot in his pocket, softly touching the beast's shoulder. Smoothing over the prickling fur in slow soothing strokes. It was coarse but, as expected, pleasantly warm. Like a bowl of soup on a rainy day. Despite not having a real body, Steven could feel the gem's forearm ripple beneath his touch like a tensing muscle. The scratching came to a delayed halt as it turned to face him.

A slowly building hum from his gem took over the dense song of the trees. He found himself unable to take his hand away from Tiger’s fur. Time dragged along in a barely noticeable crawl. His breathing hitched at the dissociative sight of his hand clad in a long richly pink glove. Panicked, he pulled away from the beastly gem with a shaken expression.

Clearly Tiger noticed the oddity of the situation, as she rose from her haunches and took a single forceful step in his direction, stopped only by Connie who put a hand cautiously on the startled Steven's back. 

"Steven, is everything ok?"

He shook away the off expression and glared back at the beast's face with a knowing frown.

"Y-yeah- yeah, I- Everything's good." A low rumble rolled from Tiger's mouth. Not threatening, but curious, as it tried to reach a claw to his stomach. Her paw was swatted away by Connie's firm knuckles.

"That's enough, whatever you did I don't appreciate it." She barked, taking Tiger by surprise, the gem’s tail swiftly tucking under its legs. 

"We're going back to the B and B, as a group, and you're not going to cause trouble. Understood?" She got thorough nods from the beast, a lot more receptive to the little lady's firm attitude. 

His hand retreated back into the confines of his jacket, easing Connie with a wide smile. It was disingenuous, but it was what she wanted to see. Steven just hoped it would be enough to offset her distrust of the looming beast. 

The remainder of the walk back to civilisation was tense and unforgiving. Connie, still unsure of how to feel towards the gem, had Lion walk in between Tiger and Steven despite the monster's very clear interest in him. The drawl of cars on hot asphalt became louder as the woods began to thin and pull away.

"Do you think it'll follow?" Connie asked, cautiously, stepping out of the bushes to the side of the road. Tiger was still obscured behind a few branches, trotting to catch up.

"I hope so." Steven sighed back,  not entirely sure of his own plan either . This wasn’t beach city. Even if it wasn’t too far away, giant gem monsters weren't something people just saw on a regular basis. "We should try to keep Tiger out of the open. If we can get them around the back of the B an' B I think this could work out. The manager was alright with Lion, so Tiger shouldn't be too different." He nodded, already planning out their crossing in his head as a gap in traffic approaches.

Connie hauled herself up onto Lions back, lightly nestling her hands in his mane like makeshift reins. "Hop on!" She patted the pink cat's back before holding her arm out to Steven. Pulling with a great deal of effort as he took it and was hoisted up behind her.

Tiger was still shadowed by the rustling blanket of leaves overhead, the gem swaying back and forth to get a better look at where she was. Some kind of human place, obviously, and as much as she wanted to avoid it the boy was clearly asking her to accompany him. After little thought she hustled up behind Lion, blowing air playfully across Steven and Connie's hair before all four of them made the short jaunt across the highway.

The road stilled. Quiet and unused, while several sets of paws padded across the heated surface. Tiger's muzzle lowered briefly to get a better look but jolted back upright the moment she fell a step behind. The building, now much closer, was nestled at the end of a long road. Further up was town, and further down was an open highway back to beach city. Claws made little pitter letters on pale concrete as they reached the other side. Lion thwapped tiger over the face with his tail, several times, until she gave up being behind the trio and pulled up at their side.

The space behind the building was scattered with the occasional car and a single flame-decal jeep. Trash bins lined the back wall, leading up to a big emergency exit style double door. The handle was a single long bar on either side. Lion's paws were near-silent on the pebbly tarmac, but Tiger's clawed back feet laced the air with clattering sounds every time they hit the floor.

"So… our options." Steven started, twisting to look around as he held onto Connie's shoulders for support. "By the car could work, but she might wander off, or get in someone's way-"

Connie swung her legs over Lion's broad shoulders, hopping down with a smack of her shoes against the floor. Not long after joined by Steven, who was still pondering their next step. Lion grumbled quietly, lifting his chin to lessen the pressure of his thick mane on his sore throat, catching sight of Tiger with her head buried deep in a dark green container. His ears turned towards her in curiosity.

She growled quietly with intrigue, smacking the back of her head against the lid as Connie clapped her hands loudly. 

"Hey!" Tiger's head flew out of the dumpster, and with it so did a full garbage bag, which she dragged out and dropped at Connie’s feet. A large, comically goofy smile broadened across the beast's face, clearly very pleased with herself.

Despite everything Connie had to hold back a tiny snort. She watched as the beast's tail thumped against the floor like an excited dog. 

"Tiger. Put it back." She got a low whine as a reply, having to roll her eyes and put it away herself before the heavy thumping sound returned.

"So in our room it is." Steven announced, dusting off his palms as Connie's shoulders bunched up.

"Whoah, wait, with us? We already have me and Lion in your room, don't you think it would be a bit crowded?" 

Steven squints, both hands clasped together with the pointer fingers at his lips. He took a long pause while watching Lion incessantly bat at Tigers tail.

  
  


_ "Steven, quit stepping on my heels." _

_ "It wasn't me, it was Lion!" _

_ "Growwrrrr?" _

_ "Shh, both of you, quiet."  _ Connie hisses, her outstretched arm stopping Lion in his tracks while Steven delicately shuts the back doors behind the bundled up mess of a group. Everyone jumped in place as it clapped shut a little louder than intended.

Hallway? Clear. Reception desk? Clear. Front room… behind a corner up ahead. She could feel Lion and Tiger leaning out to peer around the corner with her and quickly batted them both away. "Why don't you just  _ ask  _ the manager if she can stay?"

"Because! What if she says no, or gets weirded out, she doesn't even know Lion slept in our room she thinks you two came from outside." He hastily whispered back, leading the convoy as everyone tiptoed up to the next corner. Tiger's broad and fluffy shoulders skewed paintings as she pushed past them, leaving a line of tilted landscape shots in their wake.

The floorboards creaked and groaned beneath their weight as they approached the stairs. The lounge was thankfully empty. Lion bounded up the stairs with relative ease thanks to his small paws and light weight. Tiger however stopped at the first step, looking down at her paw awkwardly, trying to find enough room to step.

_ "Steven, it can't walk on the stairs, the steps are too small"  _ Connie whispered in hushed urgency, keeping watch behind them with Tiger's tail under her arm.

"Right, right, uh, let me think…" small steps. Big paws. If she tried to walk up now she could leave claw marks everywhere, or worse become unstable and fall down again. They needed something big and stable… "My shield!" He barked, almost a little too loud, before summoning the iconic floral-patterned disc. He hovered it, flat, just above the first step. His arms wobbled under sudden pressure as Tiger stepped up onto the shield, their back legs shifting weight from one to the other with clear excitement.

The walk up was gruelling, but not long, as Connie and Steven both flanked the sides of the shield to push it. Tiger's hooked claws on her two toes made tapping sounds on the wood below the entire way up. 

By the time they reached the top Lion had already gone into Steven's room and Connie could feel a sweat building up across her forehead. 

"You said Garnet and Amethyst should be here by tomorrow, right?" She panted tiredly, the pink thorn-decorated disc vanishing with a few sparkles of light while Steven ran his sleeve across his face. 

It was a cozy room. Nothing flashy or deluxe, just a bed and a bedside table, with a big window who's blinds were pulled shut. Lion had his head stuck between them, nose pressed against the glass to stare outside, while Tiger peered inside with insatiable curiosity. 

Her muzzle creased and bobbed, mimicking the heavy sniffing of a dog, as she took a cautious step inside. Connie pulled the door shut behind them with a little 'click'. Once everyone was inside, both herself and Steven collapsed on the bed with relieved groans.

  
"Steven, this isn't how I planned to be spending my weekend." To his delight, she was laughing. Quietly, behind a very drained smile, with her face sunk into the duvet. He grinned a big goofy grin, facing the ceiling with his arms spread in a starfish pose once more.   
  
“Yeah. Me neither.”


End file.
